"Letting go if what might have been
and letting something else in"

EVERYTHING HURT.

Rosalind woke up feeling sore. Whatever Bruce had given her yesterday had worn off. She groaned and stretched out, careful of her bandages. She was surprised to be able to stretch across the entire bed. She opened her eyes to find it empty. Bruce was gone.

Rosalind rolled over and looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was almost noon. He had let her sleep in.

Her whole body ached. She let out a wince as she sat up. Maybe she should actually go see a doctor. She was sure Bruce had done a good job patching her up but he was certainly no professional.

She couldn't stay in bed all day, injured or not. Her father had been one of those "walk it off" types of parents so that was kind of engraved in her mind. Copper on the other hand, was snoring soundly as he curled up at the end of the bed. Slowly and carefully, Rosalind got dressed before limping towards the door. She heard voices as soon as she opened it, startling her from her thoughts.

"I know she's here!" An all too familiar voice came from downstairs.

Rosalind made her way down the hall and stopped at the top of the stairs. There in the foyer stood Bruce, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face as he blocked another man from coming in any further.

Everett Foley, Rosalind's ex boyfriend, stood on the other side.

"Look, I just want to check on her." Everett said.

"That's a first." Bruce scoffed.

"Yeah," Everett rolled his eyes. "Like you ever-"

Everett had noticed her at the top of the stairs. He looked worried. The last time she had seen him he had broken up with her. He had honestly done it very politely, all things considered. But at the same time Rosalind wished it had been much more dramatic because then she would actually have a reason to feel bad about it. But now here he was standing in front of her as if nothing had changed.

"Linny," He smiled, a look of relief washing over his face. The old nickname he used almost knocked Rosalind down the stairs.

Bruce turned around quickly, seeing her at the top of the stairs and moving to help her. But Rosalind held up a hand to stop him and carefully made her way down the stairs.

"You should be resting," Bruce said.

"Impossible to rest at times like this," She sighed before looking at Everett. "...What are you doing here?"

"God, Linny," Everett looked her over, reaching out to touch the bandages on her arm. "Are you okay? I saw what happened on the news, the livestream. I didn't even realize what was going on at first but then I saw that it was you of all people? Fuckin' horrible. Terrifying. I was so worried about you."

Everett hugged her. Rosalind tensed up at first. But she returned the hug after a moment. She had missed him, she had to admit. She heard Bruce sniff loudly next to them, arms still folded across his chest and a frown on his face.

"The news said that Batman got you out," Everett pulled back, his hands on her shoulders. "Thank god. I know we haven't talked in a while but I needed to check on you, make sure you were alright, y'know?"

"Hold on," Rosalind frowned. "How did you know I was here?"

"Well I went to your apartment first," Everett said. "But... you know."

"What do you mean?" Rosalind asked.

It was Everett's turn to frown. He looked from her to Bruce with a confused expression.

"Does she not know?" He asked.

"Not know what?" Rosalind asked, turning to look at Bruce.

"Linny..." Everett said sadly. "There was a fire. Not long after you were taken. It was started in your apartment."

"Riddler set the fire to distract from your kidnapping," Bruce finally spoke up. "So he could make a clean getaway."

Rosalind's heart sank. She felt sick. She thought of all her belongings. She thought of Sydney and her kids and all the other people who lived in the complex.

"Did anyone-?" She asked quickly but Everett shook his head.

"No one got hurt," he reassured her. "They were able to put the fire out in time but... I'm really sorry-"

"MY LAPTOP!" Rosalind gasped and started to pace and pull at her hair, her pain long forgotten. "My fucking laptop! My notebooks, my books! And he- he took my ideas book. Fuck. Fuck! All of my work, just gone. Jesus fucking christ-"

"Rosie-" Bruce reached for her but she stopped in her tracks and looked at him.

"You knew," She said. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Yeah," Everett nodded. "Why didn't you tell her? It's her apartment. It's her stuff."

"You had been through enough yesterday," Bruce said. "You needed to rest. You still need to rest. So, Everett, I think you should leave."

The two men glared at each other. Rosalind looked between them. Bruce was a lot taller than Everett was, much more intimidating. But Rosalind knew how stubborn Everett could be. He was never one to back down from a fight. But she knew that this was one fight he certainly would not win.

"What," Everett said, placing a hand on Rosalind's shoulder and staring up at Bruce. "So you can lock her away in this damn tower? That's your style ain't it, Wayne? The reclusive type. Linny's a big girl, she can handle being alone for more than five minutes."

"Right now Rosie needs to be taken care of," Bruce said through gritted teeth. Rosalind remembered how he had once told her that he thought the nickname "Linny" was stupid. "The last thing she needs is to be alone. The last time she was, she got taken. This never would have happened if I was there in the first place."

"You're right," Everett agreed. "It wouldn't of. And yet? Look what happened."

There was silence for a long moment. Bruce looked livid. But a look from Rosalind froze him to his spot. She didn't want trouble and he knew that. So he would abide by her rules. As always.

"I think you should leave." Bruce said again firmly.

"Everett," Rosalind turned around to face him. "Thank you for checking on me, really. It means a lot. But I'm okay. Just a bit beaten and bruised. But I'll bounce back, yeah? I always do. But you really don't have to-"

"I'm sorry, Linny," Everett shook his head. "I was an idiot. Seeing you like that on TV last night... it made me realize how important you are. I mean, if that Riddler guy went through all that just to get to you? You're something special. And I guess I was too dumb to see that."

"It isn't me, exactly," Rosalind shook her head. "It's my books, my ideas he was after."

"Well they came from you, didn't they?" Everett tilted his head and took her hands in his. "And, heh, you always said I was like your good luck charm, your muse. You wrote Sliced when we were together. Maybe they're as much as mine as they are yours. Linny, I've been so dumb. Maybe we can-"

"That's enough," Bruce stepped forward and gently pulled Rosalind back by her shoulders. She didn't fight him, she was too surprised. "You've overstayed your welcome. She needs to rest."

"And you know what's best for her, huh?" Everett scoffed. "Look, I know you never liked me, man. You've always had this weird protective thing over her. It's obvious right now. But where was it last night?"

"Watch yourself," Bruce growled at him.

"But don't blame yourself, Wayne." Everett continued. "We can't all be heroes. Like you said, none of this would have happened if you were there, right? I mean, if it wasn't for Batman she'd be dead. And that would have been on your hands. It would have been your fault-"

Bruce surged forward and grabbed Everett by his jacket collar and practically lifted him up. Rosalind gasped in surprise. Bruce leaned closer to the blonde man, his eyes narrowed and lip curled.

"Get out of my house," He snarled. "Now."

He let the man go with a light shove. Everett straightened himself and looked at Rosalind, waiting for her to object. But she looked away, her mind swimming. Everett huffed and turned on his heel before stalking out the door, slamming it behind him.

There was another long moment of silence. Rosalind stared at the now empty doorway, hugging her arms around herself. Her mind felt so loud, so crowded.

Her apartment was gone. Her work was gone. She was in pain. Her father was still in the hospital. Riddler was still out there somewhere. People were dying. She was going to miss her deadline.  And to top it all off, her fucking dick of an ex boyfriend just tried to get back together with her. It was too much.

"Rosie," Bruce said softly, and she felt a gentle hand on the small of her back. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was going to when you were feeling better. I didn't want you to worry..."

"I am worried," She replied, looking up at him. "I'm in a damn constant state of worry, Bruce. Things are too much right now. I don't know if I can handle it all anymore."

Bruce suddenly engulfed her in a hug. She returned it instantly, burying her face in his chest. He rested his chin on her head and rubbed small circles on her back.

"All of my things..." She whispered. "Gone. Up in smoke. We're no closer to catching Riddler either. I've been slowing you down, haven't I?"

"No," She felt him shake his head. "You haven't. You've helped me so much. I'm the one who's been slowing down. Rosie, I'm sorry. About everything."

"It's okay," She replied. "Think of it... think of it as character development."

Bruce chuckled and she felt it rumble through his chest.

"At least your sense of humor is still intact," he said. "What would we do without it?"

"The world would fall," She replied.

"It would."

His arms wrapped tighter around her. They stayed like that for a while. For someone who hated being touched, Bruce gave really good hugs. She felt safe in his embrace, cared for. She noticed that lately he had been as clingy as she normally was. Then again, he had almost lost her. She wouldn't want to let go either.

"I promise," Bruce whispered. "Nothing else is going to happen to you. Ever. Again, I know you said you don't need protecting. But I'm going to do it anyway."

"As long as I can keep you as my nurse too," Rosalind said. "You've got yourself a deal."

"How are you feeling?" He asked, pulling back to look her in the eyes.

"Like shit," She replied. "As much as you did a good job patching me up, I think I should go get checked out."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "I made you breakfast."

"You?" Rosalind raised an eyebrow.

"I tried to make you breakfast."

"Tried?"

"I burned chocolate chip pancakes."

"So there isn't actually any breakfast?"

"...I was thinking we could just eat the extra chocolate chips."

Rosalind laughed and let her forehead fall back onto his chest. It hurt to laugh but she didn't care. She couldn't see it from where she was, but Bruce was smiling down at her. From all the hardship he himself had gone through in the last 24 hours, that was all he needed to hear. It felt like he had taken all the drops in the world. It energized him. He was sure Rosalind's laugh could cure all disease, stop all wars, save the world.

And he was lucky enough to hear it.

"As much as I'd love chocolate chips for breakfast," Rosalind raised her head and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Or lunch rather. I definitely need to see a doctor. We can visit my dad while we're there. But I need some medical attention from people who don't keep their supplies in a cave."

"I think I did a good job," Bruce moved to inspect the bandages on her wrist.

She hissed slightly when he touched them and his hand leapt away like she was on fire. He looked at her apologetically. The laughter seemed to drain from the room. He had gone back to brooding Bruce once more as he thought about the previous night's events.

"What happened to you," he said. "What Everett said... maybe he's right. This is all my fault-"

"Bruce," Rosalind shook her head. "No, it's not your fault. None of it is. I mean, you saved me."

"Batman saved you." He corrected her.

"...Maybe so," She said. "But it was Bruce Wayne who took care of me. Who stayed with me. That's what I care about. That's what's important to me. Thank you."

Rosalind leaned up and kissed him softly on the cheek. But she lingered there for a moment. The air around them seemed to shift. She pulled back and looked up at him. Those blue eyes seemed to drill right through her. Slowly, he put his hand on her cheek, cradling her face.

Neither of them moved, neither of them breathed. They just stared at each other for a long moment. Time seemed to stop, it felt like the world was moving in slow motion. Like someone had pressed pause on the universe. But then time seemed to move impossibly fast.

Bruce, in a surge of confidence and perhaps blindness from her intoxicating proximity, pulled her forward and kissed her.

The kiss was soft, nervous, inexperienced. His hand held her face impossibly gentle, as if she were made of glass. But his other arm was still wrapped around her tightly, as if afraid she would disappear. But Rosalind had no time to focus on that. Bruce Wayne was kissing her.

Bruce Wayne, her best friend for basically her entire life. Bruce Wayne, Gotham's prince. Bruce Wayne, the richest man in the city. Bruce Wayne, Batman.

Rosalind wasn't sure if she kissed him back. She couldn't remember. But as quickly as it started, it stopped. He stopped. He pulled back to see her eyes wide and lips now parted in surprise.

Bruce let her go and took a step back. She could see an embarrassed blush creeping up on his cheeks. She could feel her own face grow hot and knew she looked the same.

"I..." Bruce looked at the ground. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I..."

"It- It's okay," Rosalind shook her head, still trying to figure out what the hell just happened. "Um, it's fine."

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to feel. How did he feel? Why would he do that? Her mind began to swim with questions again. These last 24 hours had been way too much for her. This was just the icing on the cake.

"You still want to go to the hospital?" he asked, changing the subject. Rosalind nodded dumbly. "Okay. I'll go get the car."

Bruce turned quickly and walked out of the room, leaving her alone. Rosalind blinked a few times, trying to figure out if any of that really just happened. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

It had been a heat of the moment thing. Fueled by adrenaline and what the both had been through. Bruce was her best friend. He couldn't... he wouldn't... Could he? Would he?

It was best not to dwell on it now. There were so many other things going on. The last thing that either of them needed was... whatever this was.

Rosalind walked out of the room to head to the car, trying really hard to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

Thankfully, the car ride to the hospital was made significantly less awkward when Rosalind's phone (A brand new one as her old one had been lost in the fire. Bruce had got it and set it up for her that morning. Perks of being rich, she decided.) began buzzing like crazy. She had barely looked at the phone all morning. There were maybe thirty texts and missed calls, all from her editor Rebecca. She was calling again. Rosalind answered it.

"YOU'RE OKAY!" Rebecca's voice came so loud from the phone that Rosalind held it away from her ear.

"Hi Becca," Rosalind said. "I'm alright."

"Oh honey I was so worried about you," Rebbeca cried. "I saw it all on the news and I was like 'that's my Rosalind!' I was so scared for you honey, thank god you got out. Are you hurt?"

"I'll live," Rosalind reassured the woman. "I'm actually headed to the hospital right now."

"Good," Rebecca sighed. "Well this bit of news might cheer you up. You're trending. Have been since last night."

"Am I?" Rosalind raised an eyebrow, switching to speakerphone so she could open twitter. Sure enough, her name was the number one trending topic. "Oh."

"There's so much support for you, honey," Rebecca said. "People are saying such nice things. But here's the kicker: your sales have skyrocketed overnight."

"Really?" Rosalind gaped at her phone.

Bruce glanced at her from the driver's seat as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and she gave him an 'I know right?' look. She motioned for him to go in without her while she finished her phone call. Bruce looked around with a worried look. He didn't want to leave her by herself again. But there were plenty of people around. Plenty of witnesses. Just in case. He reluctantly nodded and got out of the car, heading into the hospital.

"I don't know if it's support or morbid curiosity after last night," Rebecca continued. "But this is the biggest and quickest spike in sales that I've seen in years. And you're safe now and- oh honey I'm just so glad."

"Thank you Becca," Rosalind smiled. "Really, thank you."

Her editor had always been a mentor to Rosalind. She was the one who took a chance on her first book and had been with her every step of the way. Rosalind loved how motherly she was, how she always called her "honey" and checked up on her often. She had always respected Rebecca as a mentor and as an editor. But Rosalind realized she was much more than that: she was a good friend as well.

"Don't thank me, honey," Rebecca said. "I'm just glad you're still with us. Oh! By the way, your deadline is still coming up. But don't worry too much about it, you have enough on your plate. Besides, you've probably got it all ready, don't you?"

"...Yeah." Rosalind lied. "Yep. Got it."

"Fantastic," She replied. "I'll let you go now, honey. Be careful out there, huh?"

"I will, Becca," Rosalind sighed. "Thank you."

Rosalind hung up the phone with a frown. Her deadline was the last thing on her mind right now as she headed into the hospital.

She got checked out by a doctor first, texting Bruce that she would meet him in Alfred's room when she was done. The doctor joked about tending to a "celebrity" as he looked her injures over. He complimented whoever had patched her up in the first place. The bandages were replaced, the burns and cuts were cleaned, and she was prescribed medicine for healing and pain.

"We all watched it happen on the TV in the breakroom last night," The doctor told her. "We were all rooting for you. The whole city was."

It had only just hit Rosalind that everyone knew what had happened to her. The whole city was watching. Everett, Rebecca, the doctors in the breakroom, all of Gotham. She thought of the words online under her trending name. Well wishes and praise and hope. They were rooting for her. That was enough to keep her going.

If they believed in her, if they rooted for her, she would keep fighting.

It was dark outside by the time Rosalind was discharged. She went straight to her father's room, expecting to see him still asleep with Bruce slumped in the chair beside him. But instead she saw her father's eyes open as he and Bruce spoke in hushed tones. She froze in the doorway, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

The two Pennyworths looked at each other for a moment, Bruce looked between them. Rosalind's eyes filled with tears as she leapt to embrace her father. He hugged her back, weakly but with all the love in the world. When she pulled back he could see the cuts on her face. His smile turned into a scowl.

"Bruce told me everything," He said. "Lord, Rosalind... that man was lucky I've been asleep this entire time. I'm just about ready to go after him myself."

"I believe you," Rosalind chuckled tearfully. "I'm alright, Dad. I promise. I'm sorry for our fight, the last time we talked. I've regretted it every day. I should have told you everything from the very beginning-"

"Don't you start that," Alfred cut her off. "You were right. You're an adult, you can make your own choices."

"But I should have told you," She sighed.

"...Yes," he agreed. "You should have. But it's too late for that, isn't it? We're here, we're both alive. That's what matters."

Alfred reached up and brushed her hair back. He looked again at the cuts covering her face, the bandages on her arms, the bags under her eyes. And yet she was smiling at him, at her father, her hero. She had been through so much and yet here she was, apologizing to him for a little fight.

"You, Rosie-Posie, are the strongest woman I know." He said. "All of that bullshit you went through... You always manage to keep fighting. Your mother would be so proud of you."

Rosalind grinned and wiped away her tears. She sat on the bed, holding her father's hand. He and Bruce filled her in on what Bruce had discovered about Falcone, about Thomas Wayne. Her smile quickly dropped.

"He made a mistake," Alfred said.

"A mistake?" Bruce repeated. "He had a man killed. Why? To protect his family image? His political aspirations?"

"It wasn't to protect the family image," Alfred said. "And he didn't have anyone killed. He was protecting your mother. He didn't care about his image or the campaign, any of that. He cared about her, and you. Hell, he even treated Rosalind like one of his own."

Thomas Wayne had always been good to Rosalind, she would never forget that. In the few years she knew him, she immediately felt like part of the family because of him and Martha.

They were good people, great people. She refused to believe that he would purposely be involved in anyone's death.

"And in a moment of weakness," Alfred continued. "He turned to Falcone. But he never thought that Falcone would kill that man. Your father should have known that Falcone would do anything to finally have something on him that he could use.That's who Falcone is. And that was your father's mistake."

Rosalind felt relieved and pissed at the same time. Falcone had been lucky she hadn't been there when Bruce had gone to see him.

"But when Falcone told him what he'd done, your father was distraught." Alfred continued. "He told Falcone he was going to the police, that he would confess everything. And that night, your father and your mother were killed."

"It was Falcone?" Bruce asked, his voice trembling.

"Oh, I wish I knew for sure," Alfred sighed. "Or maybe it was some random thug on the street who needed money, got scared, and pulled the trigger too fast. If you don't think I've spent everyday searching for that answer... Rosalind's mum, we had closure for her. She had been sick, we knew that's what killed her. But you..."

Rosalind squeezed her father's hands tightly. He squeezed it back, the memories painful.

"It was my job to protect them, do you understand?" Alfred asked Bruce. "I know you always blamed yourself. You were only a boy, Bruce. I could see the fear in your eyes, how you clung to Rosalind since then. How scared you were that you would lose us too. But I didn't know how to help. I could teach you how to fight, the both of you. But I wasn't equipped to take care of you. But you needed a father and all you had was me. I'm sorry."

"You were an amazing father," Rosalind shook her head. "A mentor, a provider, Dad you did a good job with the both of us."

"I don't know how this one turned out so well," Alfred pointed at his daughter. "Dumb luck I suppose. "

"Don't be sorry, Alfred," Bruce shook his head. "God, I never thought I'd feel fear like that again. Especially after last night. I thought I'd mastered all that."

He looked at Rosalind and she remembered flashes of the previous night when he had found her. The urgency in his voice, the worry in his eyes.

"I mean," Bruce continued. "I'm not afraid to die. I realize now there's something I haven't got past. This fear of ever going through that again. Of losing somebody I care about."

Somebody he cared about. Rosalind smiled softly. She turned to look at her father to find him already looking up at her, a somewhat knowing looking smile on his face. He turned back to Bruce and held out his other hand to him. Bruce paused, looking down at it.

Rosalind leaned forward and took Bruce's hand, bringing it over so the three of them held each other. This was understanding. This was forgiveness. This was home.

Bruce looked at Rosalind again. The memory of him kissing her earlier that day flashed across her mind, butterflies filling her stomach again. Somebody he cared about. He opened his mouth to say something when his eyes trailed to something behind her. She turned to see the bat signal plastered across the sky.

Batman was needed.

She turned back around and shared a knowing look with Bruce. She was coming with him again. He was never letting her out of his sight now. Alfred noticed as well, sighing.

"Go on then," he said. "The both of you, go finish this."

Rosalind leaned forward and kissed her father on the cheek before sliding off the bed. She followed Bruce out of the room with a promise to Alfred they would see him soon.

"Be careful!" he called after them.

"Aren't we always?" Rosalind said to Bruce, bumping his hip with hers as they walked down the hallway. He bit back a smile but she could see the corners of his eyes crinkle.

Rosalind wasn't scared of anything anymore. She felt like she could take on the world. It was time to get to work.

After all, the city was rooting for her.

JILLIAN SPEAKS!

Rosalind rn:

WE GOT A KISS LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO!! And then they don't talk about it because they're idiots but it's a start yall. Also I've officially decided that the ship name is "Brosie." Because that's funny as hell.

Sorry for taking so long with this update! I've started my summer internship this week and it took up a bunch of my time. I've finally figured out my schedule and I'll be writing and updating more often.

In the meantime, go check out my other fics! I'm starting a stranger things one (ignore all my other I fished fics. It's fine. I'm fine.)

As always, don't be a ghost reader! I love all your comments they really motivate me to write more so keep them coming!!

Until next time, love ya!